As my clients have seen, I've recently been giving options for heavy lifting in the classes I teach
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Why am I doing this? More and more research is coming out about results in women over 40; and it shows that the intensity required for women to see results must be HIGH to see changes in body composition (your % body fat) and muscle building.
The same goes for the high intensity intervals we've been doing. You should be working so hard you cannot talk and you are breathless. It's the high intensity that's required for the body fat loss and hormonal changes needed to get results. These can be high or low impact but the intensity needs to be in that 8-10 out of 10 range on the RPE scale.
What does this mean for you? If you are a Driven member who wants to really see an increase in strength and muscle mass, and a decrease in body fat, then you should be taking advantage of the heavy lifting sets.
This means lifting a heavy enough weight that you can't do more than 8 or so reps (you may be limited in some exercises based on injuries, chronic pain, etc).
I encourage you to try the heavy stuff when given the opportunity. HOWEVER, this does NOT mean you should be taking 5 classes/week AND doing all of the heavy lifting. You should do heavy lifting no more than 3x/week.
You should also be doing the heavy lifting + high intensity intervals for no more than 30 minutes.
If you feel you must take 60 minutes of class, I recommend you use the first 30 minutes more as a warmup and mobility workout - choose light weights.
Or you can do a 30 minute walk before class and then really go high intensity in class for 30 minutes.
The prescription for success is....
2-3x/week heavy lifting
1 -2x/week stretch class
Rest of the days easy, low intensity walking, hiking, cycling, etc that brings you joy and keeps your cortisol low.
Hope that helps give you some new guidance!
Coach Erica